Thank you very much, John. John Wilson is a forceful and thoughtful advocate for HBCUsand he already has begun to reinvigorate the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Good morning. It's a pleasure to speak to America's Choice Superintendent's Symposium. The National Center on Education and the Economy, which helped father America's Choice, has been at the forefront of efforts to develop school improvement models that align rigorous standards and assessments.

I realize that I am speaking at the end of a conference where you've already heard from a roster of impressive speakers. I am going to try to keep my comments brief. Adlai Stevenson once said that the best after-dinner speech he ever heard was: "Waiter, I'll take the check."

Today is a great daynot just for those of you here to listen to President Obama in a few minutes but for tens of thousands of teachers, parents, principals, school superintendents, and lawmakers across the country who have devoted their energy, their passion, and their commitment over the years to improving our nation's schools.

Thank you for the generous introduction. As someone who has spent much of a career immersed in federal education policy, it is a thrill to have a large audience of people who won't bolt for the door if I talk about things like ISIRs, dependency overrides, and Experimental Sites.

Good morning. Thank you for having me and thank you for hosting one of our Listening and Learning events. We embarked on this tour to hear from people in classrooms and schools—people who are facing educational challenges and finding solutions.